Chapter 43

Xuan Zhe really could not bear to watch a gentle girl like Rin Nohara become a pawn in Madara Uchiha's hands.

That was why he had made this choice.

Still, he was rather curious-if Rin did not die, how else would Obito turn to darkness?

"Kakashi, Obito, Kurenai, Shizune, make sure you all stay safe on the battlefield."

Rin Nohara waved to her classmates, then hurried after Xuan Zhe and left.

Obito's eyes stayed glued to the figure behind Xuan Zhe, his face full of reluctance to part with her as he muttered nonstop:

"Why did he have to keep her here instead of anyone else? Could it be... Mr. Xuan Zhe has feelings for Rin..."

"Aren't you overthinking this? Idiot."

The corner of Kakashi's mouth twitched slightly.

He was even getting suspicious of Kakashi's uncle? There was a twenty-year age gap between them. No matter how he looked at it, that was impossible, wasn't it?

Wait-Kakashi suddenly caught sight of the intense jealousy on Kurenai Yuhi's face beside him and sucked in a breath.

It seemed... it was not entirely impossible after all.

Xuan Zhe and Tsunade each took a team and set off in different directions.

About three minutes later, White Zetsu's head, with only the left half of his face remaining, quietly emerged from a corner of Konoha's perimeter wall.

Watching the retreating figures of Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha, already no bigger than sesame seeds in the distance, White Zetsu frowned and muttered to himself:

"Ah... things aren't going too smoothly. I'd better go back and report to Madara..."

A few days later, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had stayed in the rear, received news from the front.

As soon as Minato arrived at the front with his team, they joined forces with Sunagakure and fought a battle against Kumogakure.

But the result left Sarutobi Rihiko rather stunned.

The ** he had had high hopes for had been thoroughly overpowered by the Third Raikage.

"Lord Hokage, should we send more men?" Shikaku asked quietly.

"...No need."

The surprise on Sarutobi's face vanished in an instant, his tone perfectly calm:

"We've already provided more than enough support. There's no need to stake everything we have on Sunagakure."

They might have signed an alliance, but he was not generous enough to risk his life for someone else.

Sending some people over to make a show of support was enough.

If they really could not hold out, he could simply have Minato and the others withdraw.

As long as his own foundations remained untouched, he could not be bothered with whatever havoc Kumogakure wreaked in the Land of Wind.

"Kumogakure's target probably isn't Sunagakure..."

Shikaku turned his head, cold sweat trickling down his cheek.

He did not have Xuan Zhe's all-knowing perspective, but he was quick-witted enough to notice something wrong with Kumogakure's offensive.

Why leave the filthy-rich Land of Fire alone and cross mountains to attack the dirt-poor Land of Wind instead?

But when he remembered running into Xuan Zhe yesterday, and the words the man had whispered into his ear-"Don't say what you shouldn't"-his heart tightened, and he swallowed the analysis on the tip of his tongue.

After vaguely guessing what Xuan Zhe intended to do, Shikaku spent that entire night talking with his two old friends, Inoichi Yamanaka and Chōza Akimichi.

In the end, the three agreed on a position: remain neutral.

They absolutely could not get mixed up in this mess.

On one side was an old fox who could bring down the Senju Clan; on the other was a monster who could infiltrate an enemy village and cut off its Kage's head.

They could not afford to provoke either one.

All they could do was try their best not to offend either side.

"I expected as much."

Elsewhere, several days had already passed by the time Xuan Zhe received news of Minato Namikaze's defeat at the front.

He did not have Sarutobi Rihiko's sophisticated intelligence network, nor had he asked Tsunade to send letters back every day.

There was no need.

By the time he found out, most of the village's ninja had heard about it too.

There was not a trace of surprise on his face.

The Third Hokage's title of "strongest" was indeed somewhat inflated.

But the Third Raikage's "strongest" was the real deal.

The Strongest Shield-even that future Crown Prince's Rasenshuriken could not ** it.

Minato had mastered Flying Thunder God by now, but his strongest attack was only a Big Ball Rasengan. It was perfectly normal that he could not beat the Third Raikage.

Xuan Zhe stared at the intelligence in his hand and shook his head.

Who could break through the Third Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode?

"Too bad the Third Raikage is over in the Land of Wind."

There was a hint of regret in his voice.

In the original story, Naruto had only managed to deal with the Third Raikage in his Impure World Reincarnation state thanks to a great deal of luck.

Besides, it was hard to say how much of their living strength those brought back through Impure World Reincarnation could actually use.

He really wanted to try cutting that so-called Strongest Shield with his new blade and see how it felt.

"Lord Xuan Zhe, have an orange~"

Rin Nohara handed him a peeled orange.

With Tsunade away, she had nothing to do.

Xuan Zhe glanced at it. "You haven't cleaned off all the pith."

Rin's eyes widened.

I have to peel off the pith too?

Annoyed as she was, she still had to keep smiling.

She was just about to obediently pick off the white strands one by one when a figure suddenly flashed into view in front of Xuan Zhe.

"Something's happened."

Hatake Sakumo's expression was grave.

Xuan Zhe's lips curved upward. "So they're here."

He casually took the half-peeled orange from Rin's hand and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling, "See you later, Rin."

"Yes!"

Rin put aside her little sulk and hurried after them.

The two men walked side by side toward the village.

Xuan Zhe turned his head and asked, "The A-B Combo?"

"Yes. A and Killer B, with five thousand men. And that's only the advance force."

Sakumo nodded. "I'm getting more and more afraid of being your enemy. You predicted everything."

Back then, Xuan Zhe had said that Kumogakure's attack on the Land of Wind was a feint, and its real target was the Land of Fire.

Xuan Zhe smiled without answering.

He was not someone who relied on his brains to make a living like Shikaku.

He could see through all this purely because he understood those people's personalities inside out.

Character determined destiny. There was nothing wrong with that saying.

"Let's show them who the strongest combo in the Shinobi World really is."

Xuan Zhe sounded relaxed. "You might not even need to lift a finger. I could be enough on my own."

"Don't get careless."

Sakumo cautioned him, "Underestimating your enemy will cost you."

Xuan Zhe's eyes flickered, a smile lingering on his lips.

He had been waiting a long time for this day.

Kumogakure's army had already reached the border, led by the future Fourth Raikage A and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B.

Even at a time like this, they still had the mind to dwell on this nonsense.

There was a reason that, when the Konoha Crush Plan unfolded in the future, Hiruzen Sarutobi was the only Kage Level fighter left to hold up the entire village.

The words Danzo had put forward struck precisely at Hiruzen Sarutobi's deepest insecurity.

He was hardly a kindhearted saint.

If the two of them were not birds of a feather, would he have tolerated the other man's repeated overstepping?

Hatake Xuanzhe, and Tsunade.

These two should, by all rights, have been the least willing to follow orders, yet they had stepped forward and volunteered to go to the front.

To most people, this was a tremendous blessing.

Two Kage Level fighters, one of whom was even a Medical Saint renowned throughout the Shinobi World.

No matter how one looked at it, they would significantly improve the odds of victory.

But that was only how ordinary ninja thought.

The four old foxes on the Elders Council thought in an entirely different way.

What occupied their minds was-what exactly were Xuan Zhe and Tsunade after?

What unsavory schemes were they hiding behind all this?

"If this war continues as it has, Tsunade will have rendered tremendous service in two consecutive Shinobi World Wars. The position of Fourth Hokage will be hers for certain, especially since the First Hokage's blood runs in her veins."

Utatane Koharu's voice was as cold as a blade.

"Didn't Tsunade say she wasn't interested in becoming Hokage?"

Mitokado Homura bit his lower lip, his voice trembling.

But those words sounded more like he was trying to bolster his own courage.

The other three old-timers looked utterly grim.

Thinking back to the end of the Second Shinobi World War, and how they had treated the Senju Clan...

If Tsunade really took the Hokage's seat, would their Elders Council have any good days left?